Will Didier Drogba Return To José Mourinho's Chelsea This Season?

Ten years ago, in the Summer of 2004, Chelsea signed Didier Drogba from Marseille for a record fee of £24 million and it is probably fair to say that he was worth every single penny of that deal. A decade after that “clairvoyant” move from José Mourinho, the French media are suggesting that the Ivorian forward is set to join Chelsea once again but this time as a free transfer.

At the age of 36, Drogba is apparently ready to embark on a new adventure at the English Premier League. According to the media, the Ivorian forward will sign a one-year deal and will then be offered a coaching role at the Blues when his contract is over.

Last season, Didier Drogba played for the Turkish giants of Galatasaray and although he was not the same player he was ten years ago, he still managed to score fourteen goals in thirty-six matches, some of them fairly impressive. Since his contract with the Turkish side came to an end, Drogba is now a free-agent and despite the interest of Juventus in his services he will almost certainly join his old friend José Mourinho at Chelsea for his final footballer contract on his already long and successful career.

Back in 2004, Drogba helped Chelsea win the English Premier League, which put a stop to the club’s 50-year title drought, although ten years later it is fair to ask what sort of improvements could a thirty-six year old player bring to a strong team such as the London blues. Chelsea had several problems in their forward line last term and the fact that José Mourinho is bringing to the team Atlético Madrid’s sharpshooter Diego Costa hasn’t come as a surprise, in an attempt to somehow help and mitigate last season’s goalscoring problems. The departure of Demba Ba to Besiktas last week, the ever dubious Fernando Torres’ performances and the uncertainty on the future of Lukaku at the London’s team leave the Portuguese manager with probably just one reliable man to play alone up front, Diego Costa. The hypothetical arrival of Didier Drogba will certainly offer Mourinho a valid option to replace the Brazilian born Spanish forward and will also constitute a valuable asset to help rally the troops in the team’s locker room.

Drogba is certainly not the 26 year old ambitious footballer that arrived at Stamford Bridge in July of 2004, nevertheless, his presence exudes a powerful influence on his teammates and that sort of good vibrations and experience is surely something that Mourinho would be pleased to have back in his Chelsea’s side once again this season.